Mediation of Violence Against the elderly: The gap between Regulation and Practice

Abstract

Vietnam is not an exception regarding population aging and domestic violence against the elderly. Mediation is considered as an effective and popular method to mitigate violence against the elderly; however, the question arises regarding the difficulties families encounter when applying mediation. The paper employs in-depth interview methods in Phuc Thang commune, Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh province in July 2024 with the aim of understanding how families implement mediation and the effectiveness of this method, thereby highlighting the gap between actual practices and the legal provisions on mediation in preventing domestic violence. The results indicate that despite numerous amendments to legal documents aimed at protecting the elderly from domestic violence, the culture of maintaining family harmony and image has inadvertently obscured the violence, potentially exacerbating the issue. Therefore, legal-based mediation will only be effective if it is accompanied by extensive public awareness campaigns promoting reliable and easily accessible legal advice channels, particularly in the information technology era.